2010 Château Duhart-Milon, Pauillac, Bordeaux

Dense purple, with classic notes of cedar and lead pencil shavings as well as gobs of black currants and licorice, the wine has a full-bodied mouthfeel with fabulous precision and density. It also possesses a long, silky finish with moderately high tannins, but they are ripe and well-integrated. The wood is clearly pushed to the background in this dense, full-bodied Pauillac, which should drink beautifully for 30 years. If you can’t afford Lafite-Rothschild few can) or even their second wine, Carruades de Lafite, you still have Duhart Milon, which has become a profound wine over the last 5-7 years due to the extensive amount of attention and investment the Rothschilds have pumped into this estate. This blend of 73% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest Merlot is fabulous, a dead ringer for Lafite in a great vintage. It is probably better than many of the Lafites of the 1960s and 1970s, and even some of the vintages in the 1980s.)
This large estate 190 acres) has been on a qualitative rise for nearly a decade. A classic Pauillac, the opaque purple-colored 2010, a blend of 73% Cabernet Sauvignon and 27% Merlot, reveals beautiful notes of creme de cassis, licorice, tobacco leaf and forest floor. Bigger and more muscular than most previous vintages, this full-bodied Pauillac possesses stunning density as well as intensity. Atypically high in alcohol for this property, it requires 5-7 years of cellaring and should age effortlessly for 25-30 years.

Extremely deep crimson. Sweet pruney start – looks much more intense than Carruades, presumably because of all the Cabernet. Very introvert; not much nose. Juicy, fresh and liquorice – lots of energy. Lots of freshness. Dry finish. Very subtle but with extremely marked tannins. Just a little rugged. But the fruit is wonderfully concentrated…

Dense purple, with classic notes of cedar and lead pencil shavings as well as gobs of black currants and licorice, the wine has a full-bodied mouthfeel with fabulous precision and density. It also possesses a long, silky finish with moderately high tannins, but they are ripe and well-integrated. The wood is clearly pushed to the background in this dense, full-bodied Pauillac, which should drink beautifully for 30 years.